Crossword Genius

An animal looking for his master (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

guide dog

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'looking for his master' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.

'an animal' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'animal' could be 'dog' (type of animal) and 'dog' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'gude' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for guide dog that I've seen before include "Blind person's helper" , "Blind person's aid" , "Seeing eye" , "Only animal allowed in?" , "Aid for blind person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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